Trynytie
by Novalioness90
Summary: This is loosely based on The Sight by David ClementDavies. It's about wolves in Alaska during the Alaska Gold Rush. Like The Sight, what happens with the wolves affects the humans, and viceversa. The rest? READ AND FIND OUT!
1. Novus

TRYNYTIE

Chapter One

NOVUS

The shadows danced across the bricks of the old Yakutat firehouse. The fog was the stuff of horror films, a grim and foreboding blanket atop sheets of fresh snow. Still, at this point, untouched by human appendages until the morning, when everyone hustled out to their sleds and carriages. They yearned for the riches that supposedly lied ahead of them. Alaska gold. However, they knew of the dangers. The ice and the mountains were, of course, frightening factors. Nevertheless, the most bloodcurdling fate one could meet on this journey driven by greed was death by beast. Bears, moose, even deer were seen as an extremely dangerous threat. They were insurmountably afraid of being eaten- and that is exactly what would happen if they were attacked and killed by one of these creatures. If the attacker didn't eat them itself, a scavenger would pick at their flesh and eat it- even if the victim was alive. You think that's cruel? That's life. The life of the most feared creature in the Yukon. Canis lupus. The wolf.

Back at the firehouse, a solid figure joined the shadows. She carried others, one of her and another. These other beings were not beside, but inside her. They wanted out- at this moment. Femina was in labor on that foggy evening. Her chest, the color of deep yellow cream, heaved with the effort. She lay on her side, anxious to get her pups to safety before daybreak. Instinct had led her to the side of the old firehouse, where the volunteer fire team slept, thinking of the last call they had- three months ago. Although half of the town was composed of wood, the locals in Yakutat, Alaska were very resourceful and careful people. Half of the population was American Indians, who feared, respected and worshipped the spirits of fire. The firehouse was useless, except for lumber supply, where an older man had his little shop.

Four cries and it was done. Three pups suckled beneath Femina. She groomed them all with her tongue, caressing each one with a love that only a mother could truly distribute. It was all calm. The pups had finished their suckling and were snuggling up to their mother, keeping warm in the 30-degree weather when a light came into the sky.

_The sun, _thought Femina. _I've got to get the pups back to the pack. _ However, the light was not the sun, and it was headed towards Femina and her pups. Femina saw this, and rose to flee with her pups, but a force held her back. The snow had turned to a sticky substance that had trapped Femina's silky paws. The light approached faster, the pups began to squeal, and Femina started to whine in panic. But a deep, gentle voice came to her.

_Femina._

"How do you know my name?" The she wolf was comforted in a way, but also frantic with worry for her offspring. They were her children, of course. However, they were also her only connection to her lover, who mysteriously disappeared soon after learning of Femina's pregnancy. She waited for an answer from the stranger, but none came. She tried to move her feet, but it was just like a finger trap- the more she panicked, the harder she pulled, and the harder she pulled, the harder it was to get out. But again came the voice.

_I know everything that happens in your world, including the birth of your pups. They are special. They are different. They are crucial for the plan._

Femina was confused. "Plan? What plan? And my children… what are you going to use them for? Actually, I really don't want the universe using my children for some apocalyptic plan.They're mine and Vox's, and they will have lives! Normal lives, no matter what you-"

_Femina. Calm yourself. You are panicking with your worry. Your mate, Vox, is alive. He is coming back. But he will not be the same. He will tell you of the plan, and that your children need to leave. He will speak of a Trynytie. Three._

The voice then got deeper, and more menacing. Femina's breath quickened.

_Three kin of the right descent_

_Complete the Trynytie_

_The right has left_

_And come back_

_But the right will be_

_Left once more._

_Three kin of the right descent_

_Complete the Trynytie_

_Light as light,_

_One will bring_

_The refreshing snow_

_That flushes out the mud._

_Three kin of the right descent_

_Complete the Trynytie_

_Stone in hue,_

_Soft in heart,_

_Strength will harbor_

_From one's love._

_Three kin of the right descent_

_Complete the Trynytie_

_A flash of metal_

_One shuns away_

_A jealous greed_

_Cast upon the world._

_Three kin of the right descent_

_Complete the Trynytie._

And the blinding light withdrew, saying nothing as it bounded on the mountains' outlines into the distant heavens. Femina's mouth quivered, ajar in awe. There was a prophecy, which involved her pups. Vox, quoting the voice, would return… but never be the same. The Vox that Femina had fallen madly in love with. Maybe, once the pups had finished whatever they had to do… _I'm getting ahead of myself… Who says that my pups have to do anything? Who says they're to live? Maybe part of the "plan" is that they die! And maybe I'm being selfish. If Vox is different, then so be it. I'll still love him…_

Femina's mind raced with thoughts. Suddenly, a light broke through the horizon line. For a moment, Femina thought is was the prophetic light, coming back to give her more answers. Her heart rose. "Thank you! Thank you!" But she soon realized that this time, it really was the sun. And she really did need to get out of the village. She grabbed up the pups, all three of them barely fitting in her jowls. A silver male, a white she-pup and a gray male. "Come now, dears. We've got to get back home." She headed towards the woods behind the fire station. Femina could've given birth in the comfort of her den, where she led as alpha female in Vox's absence. The other she-wolves would've catered to her, helped her take care of the pups in their first hour. But the powers of the universe gave her the instinct to walk to the firehouse. They sent her the prophet, to warn her, and prepare her for the events to come.


	2. Caedo

TRYNYTIE

Chapter 2

CAEDO

"_Gold!"_

Three men had been digging restlessly for a day and a half. Most of their kind found nothing, but they were naïve souls and insisted on trying, like so many others who had died, falling into mineshafts and being eaten by bears. But these men were different. They had something hard that their shovels and pickaxes clanged against when they dug. In that mine, there was something that could change their lives forever.

"_Jerry! Frank! C'mere! Come look at this!"_

Jerry and Frank had been sifting through the mud and pebbles in a creek for gold pieces when John called them. They immediately dropped their sifters and ran to John's side.

"_What is it, John?"_

"_Yeah, whad'cha find?"_

"_I found it. The gold, guys, the gold! We have a fertile mine! We're gonna be rich!"_

"_Oh my… Mother of sweet Jesus… Frank, get a sack and start fillin'!"_

"_Oh my God! Oh, yeah!"_

"_Jerry, hitch up the sled. I already fed the dogs. We've got to get out of here before…"_

"_Before? Before what?"_

"_Well… I've heard stories. Of other guys… and them Injuns. They'll kill yeh… If you have something they want."_

"_Oh really?"_

"_Frank, where are the sacks?"_

"_Right here!"_

Frank roughly threw a sack over John. John's cries of "What the hell" and "Jerry, help!" were muffled, but Jerry heard them. He ran to the mineshaft, breathing heavily.

"_John! John, Frank, what's the- Frank, what the hell're you doin'?_

Jerry grabbed Frank's arms, still holding the sack over John's head. He punched Frank's back and slapped the side of his head, also kicking his calves. Suddenly, Frank whirled around and held a knife to Jerry's stomach.

"_Jerry! Thought we struck it good, dincha? No. I struck it good. You and John? You struck out, pal. See ya."_

Frank dug the knife into Jerry's lower stomach. Jerry gasped for breath, but Frank threw another sack over Jerry's head and threw him in the creek he had been sifting. The murky water clouded rouge. Frank turned his menacing gaze to the exhausted John, worn from screaming and struggling to breathe. A cord was wrapped tightly around his neck to keep the sack on.

"_F… F-f… Fra… F-f-fra-a-ank?"_

Frank gave John an empty grin. An empty, greedy grin. He nudged John's heaving body, now gasping for air. He then kicked it into the dark red creek with Jerry.

"_I liked you better than Jerry, John. But I like riches more than you both."_

Frank shoveled all of the gold into a sack. It wasn't a lot of gold, but it was enough. He loaded it onto the dogsled and cracked the whip. In a thunder of barks, a murderer was make filthy rich. That was the way of the Alaska Gold Rush.


	3. Posterus

TRYNYTIE

TRYNYTIE

Chapter 3

POSTERUS

Of all the animals, the owl is possibly the most interesting. Their wings are rarely touched by the sun, and yet their glossy feathers glisten in the moonlight when they swoop down on unsuspecting mice, voles and other small critters. Most of the prey is hurrying home. Others are foraging for their own food, trying to save up for the impending winter. There's going to be snow in Alaska anyway, but during winter, it gets ten times worse. But this owl wasn't on the prowl. In fact, it was at noon, or half-sun in nature-speak. He had come to see some old friends. It was five months after that mysterious night, when Femina the she-wolf gave birth to her pups. She had told only the owl, Citatio, her long-time friend and confident, of what had happened that night with the light and the prophecy. Now that it was a year later, Citatio wanted to check up on his canine friends. The barn owl swooped down onto a pine tree overlooking a narrow mountain pass. The trees sheltered the creatures below from most animals' sight, but Citatio was a keen eye and he could spot the deep indents in the snow that made up the pack's dens. He had an intuition that Vox wouldn't be there. There would be more ruckus if he were. Vox and Citiatio had known each other for as long as both of them could remember. They would run and fly through this very forest valley as pup and owlet, deep into the night. Sometimes Vox would have to sneak out to meet Citiatio, and Citatio would have to pretend to be hunting. Their mothers caught them, but not often. They both felt the sensations of each other; the owl of the freedom and power of the wolf, and the wolf of the flight and mystery of the owl. Many thought it was strange, their relationship. But as they grew, their friendship only strengthened; and when Vox met Femina, there was no better consult than Citatio. The tawny bird had a mate and owlets of his own now, and he was all too eager to see his best friend's progeny. Golden talons gripped a fat branch of the maple tree above the largest den, which Citatio believed to be Femina's. He knew he was correct when a smallish nose wiggled out of the entrance, accompanied by ten short, black whiskers- five on each side. A baritone voice echoed from the small cavern beneath the everlasting snow. "Mother, there's a strange smell outside. It's a bird, but a funny bird. It smells like night air and old meat. It's eaten a vole; oh yuck! Who ever heard of a flesh-eating bird?" "There's eagles, Fortis," came a softer voice- however, it was still masculine. "Oh, yeah," said Fortis as though he had suddenly remembered. "But it isn't a eagle, Gelu." "_An _eagle," sounded a loud, feminine correction. Citiatio wondered if this was Femina, but the voice sounded younger, so he decided it was not her, and she must have a daughter. "Whatever," Fortis snorted. A massive (and truly massive, even for a wolf pup) gray paw extended from the entryway. Citatio's eyes grew wide as he beheld Vox and Femina's monstrous son. "Well, look at that! It's a _really_ funny bird! It's got a tiny little hooked beak, and its face is like the moon! Gelu, Astra, come see it!" A thin, silver pup and a petite, white one warily joined their brother to stare at Citatio. Finally, a creamy yellow adult padded quietly out of her den to see the scary bird causing her children to make such a ruckus. She gasped when she eyed the sandy-colored owl, for she recognized him immediately. "Citatio!" she yelped with apparent glee. "It's been very long; too long, I suppose." The owl, taken aback at the pups' surprise that a creature such as he existed, smiled (he smiled as owls do; his face got wide and the feathers on his neck puffed out) warmly at Femina. "It certainly has, my dear. You look well; a bit on the thin side, if I may say so myself." Femina chuckled at this. "Your pups are beautiful," Citatio added. Femina's amber eyes shifted to the pups, which had given up trying to figure out what Citatio was and had begun to tussle with each other. "Alright, alright," the she-wolf steadily growled, bringing the attention of all three of them from each other to her. "Children, this is Citatio." "It has a name?" blurted Fortis, cocking an eyebrow. Astra batted her brother with her paw hard and reprimanding on the shoulder. In reality, it hardly fazed him- he was about a foot taller and much stronger than Astra- but he acted hurt all the same from the indignation of being hit by his sister. Femina, seeing that Fortis had received a correction already, continued. "Citatio, these are Fortis, Gelu and Astra." She directed her gaze toward each pup as she said his and her name; first the huge, gray Fortis, then the slender, silver Gelu, and the small, white Astra- the only she-wolf in the litter of three. Citatio was surprised that, in a litter produced by a black male and a yellow female, there were no black or yellow pups. But he was beside himself with joy for his friends. "They are magnificent." The pups, after a head-nod from their mother signaling that they were released, galumphed off into the snow. Now that the owl and the she-wolf were alone, Citatio could address his biggest concern. "Now Femina... have you told them? About what happened?" Citatio peeped quietly. The day her pups were born had been fresh on Femina's mind since the day itself. A mother's worry had broken her down and taken at least two years off her young life. Her muzzle had begun to whiten, and her ears were tattered and worn. It made Citatio very upset to see his friend like this. But Femina's mind was none the duller, and as the barn owl spoke, she remembered the day like it had been the night before. "No, Citatio. They'll find out on their own if they're supposed know." Her voice was hardened and her face was grim. Citatio ruffled his feathers uncomfortably and argued. "But why not hear it from their reassuring, trustworthy mother rather than hearing it from a blinding light that comes out of nowhere and scares the fur off their tails?" This was a touchy subject for Femina; she bared her teeth and growled, "I don't want to _scare_ them, Citatio. What if I was delirious and had a nightmare that night, and then I went and told my pups five months later that they were to go out on their own and save the world or something? That would be terrible! They'd live their lives in fear and worry, preparing themselves for something that could possibly never happen at all!" Citatio could see Femina's point but he continued to disagree; however, he refused to argue and further and nodded respectfully to the wolf. Femina retracted slowly from her defensive position and sat calmly in front of the owl with her bushy, creamy tail encircling her paws. "So what _are_ you going to do?" asked Citatio in a muffled hoot, for he was preening his chest, partly to hide his fear of the mother wolf. "Nothing," answered Femina simply. "I'll just... wait it out. See what happens." Citatio came up from his feathers and closed his eyes in acceptance that nothing he said was going to sway Femina's plans or lack of. "I guess I'll be off," he chirped in a more cheerful tone. "It was nice meeting you, children!" he called to the pups, who looked up at him from their crude snow-caves and howled goodbye. The tawny owl turned back to Femina and breathed, "If you get any news about Vox, please let me know." Femina nodded and smiled her open-mouthed wolf smile, watching as her friend spread his great wings and took off. But, when he was out of Femina's sight, he grasped the branch of the huge pine next to the pups and beckoned them over to him with the flapping of his wings. He whispered to them closely before taking to the skies once more,

"_I am an OWL."_


End file.
